I do not own Girls und Panzer in any form. This is a work of fanfiction.

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Chapter 8: Last battle

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The morning came, all of the girls from the schools participating in the final attack had been summoned to the tank hangar by General Kiyofumi and General Wanquan. Most of them were still tired from the day before, but they knew it was only one battle that stood between them and being able to relax. General Kiyofumi had them all fitted for the JGSDF Jeitai digital camouflage and Level IIIA body armor, as well as having them lightly armed with Glock 9mm pistols. They stood and awaited their command. "Ladies, you all have displayed bravery and resilience on par with the best soldiers in the world." General Kiyofumi started. "As you all are aware now, you are all members of the Japan Ground Self Defense Force. This began when your parents and yourselves signed you up for tankery classes at your respective schools. What this means is that not only are you all strong young women, you are also true soldiers."

"My troops have all told me that they have enjoyed serving alongside yourselves." General Wanquan started. "Each one of them says they admire your dedication and bravery. I, myself, also admire you. When most little girls would run and hide, all of you have stood and fought to defend your country and your people without hesitation. It has been an honor to fight alongside you in the defense of Japan."

"Just as the Generals have said, your bravery and selflessness is without compare." Colonel Bogdanovich began. "Not since my papa told me stories about his tank crew in World War two fighting the Nazis have I seen or heard of such courage. Even in the face of greater numbers and superior training, not a single one of you has turned away from the fight."

General Kiyofumi signaled his assistant to bring over a box. "I hope you will forgive the lack of a formal ceremony, but the circumstances at present keep us from doing so." The General opened the box and pulled out metal rank badges to begin giving the ladies their official ranks. "With these rank insignia, I officially welcome you to the Army. This war is yours, as it has been unanimously dubbed the 'Child's war'. It was given this name since you all have not yet graduated."

"The fighting will begin in an hour." Major Riley said. "You will have the full backing of the United States Marine Corps, Fourth Marine division, the Japan Ground Self Defense Force seventh division, the People's Liberation Army's Third armored division and Second Artillery Corps, and the Russian Fourth Guards tank division and Spetsnaz Second detached special forces."

After all of the ladies had received their ranks, they stood and saluted their superior officers. "Ladies, let's go finish off the last of our enemies." General Kiyofumi told them as he saluted them.

...

Everyone was keeping rather quiet as their tanks left for the last battle in the Japanese portion of the Child's war. Hippo team and Pravda's Msta team moved to a hilltop position well withing range of the battle zone, alongside Saunders with their M110 and the PLA 2nd artillery corps, who helped the Russian 4th guards tank division, who had moved the Koksan artillery pieces up to a perfect firing position. Having set up a radar station, fueling station, ammo dump, power station and medical station nearby. Once in place, the Russians linked their comms and guidance systems up with their guns. "This really is war, isn't it?" Erwin asked one of the Russian soldiers.

"Yes. But don't fret. After today, you can go back to your normal lives." He answered.

Oarai, Pravda, St. Gloriana, Anzio and Kuromorimine teams charged up to a waiting area. They posted up and waited for orders to move in, as the Spetsnaz were going to hit several points on the perimiter at the same time. After their surprise attack, the militaries were going to start engaging targets all around the perimeter, allowing the schools to slip in with little resistance.

...

Colonel Bogdanovich had moved his team into position and waited for the right time to attack. "I'm going to do something I saw in a movie once." The Colonel whispered to his team.

When the time came, he looked down over the boulder his team was hiding on and saw an open hatch on one of the Korean BTR-80s. He pulled the pin on his grenade and tossed it down in the hatch. After the grenade detonated, he stood up and fired his AN-94 into the crowd of stunned KPA troops. "WOLVERINES!" He yelled at the top of his lungs to signal his men to take the position.

They took the perimeter position with ease. Once the position was theirs, some of them started moving closer to get eyes on the enemy field HQ. Some of their minesweepers headed toward where the schools were due to come in. After they had dealt with the mines they found, they called the other military forces to begin their assault. Heavy rounds started coming down in what seemed like a deluge of explosives and ATGM fire. The KPA armored units that had been drawn out in the perimeter attacks were quickly dispatched. Once the opening was made, Captain Chono called the ladies over the radio. "Okay, this is it. Let's show them why they say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

With that order, all of the ladies started moving their tanks into the enemy perimeter. At first, they encountered very limited resistance, only infantry units. They were easily dealt with by the machine guns on their tanks. All of their AT threat indicators had been updated with the latest KPA armor added, so now they knew what they were looking at. It soon paid off, when 'Medium armor, N Korean, Baem, passive tracking thermal/radar/sonar, hostile' came up. Anchovy's C1 Ariete fired an armor piercing round at it, which managed to catch at just the right angle to get through the titanium lined armor and get at the crew. Another Baem flew around it, taking full advantage of its superior speed and maneuverability to flank the Italian armor. Once in place, the Baem crew fired at Anzio's starboard tracks and blew them off. Anchovy had them turn to fire, but the turret couldn't pan fast enough to keep up with it. "Dammit, stay still!" Anchovy shouted over the radio.

"We got them." Tatiana came back.

Pravda's Object 195 let loose with a HEAT round, literally blowing the Baem apart, sending armor panels flying.

It wasn't long before they were visited by several more Baem. Another piece that came up was 'Heavy armor, N Korean, Neugdae, passive tracking thermal/radar/sonar/laser, hostile' but there was only one of them this time. Kuromorimine was well equipped, with a Leopard 2-140, with a larger 140mm gun. The Leopard 2-140 and the Object 195 both engaged the Neugdae, as their guns were more able to punch through the thicker next generation armor. The Neugdae was taken out quickly. Anglerfish, with Yukari rejoining them as an additional loader for the team, started engaging the other Baem tanks. Hana took aim at one of them and fired a HEAT round. The round seemed to have split the medium tank in half, almost right up the middle.

St. Gloriana had a few of their Challenger I tanks stay back to give Anzio cover while they repaired their tank. "Damn, these tracks are heavy." Pepperoni grumbled, with Anchovy and Carpaccio in agreement.

...

The bombardment from the friendly battery kept going, striking at targets that were being called out to them. Eventually, their attacks had become enough of a thorn in their side that they attracted the attention of a Korean Koksan battery near their field HQ. Once spotters had seen where the fire was coming from, they called for artillery to return fire. One of the spotter shells came down by Hippo team's PzH2000, hitting near the turret. Everyone abandoned the gun and ran for cover by the Russian units. Once in cover, Erwin fell over, blood coming from her abdomen. "Oh no, they got me." She tried to laugh it off.

Hippo and Pravda heard the Russian and Chinese troops talking and then heard a strange buzzing sound. When more 170mm shells came down, they detonated in the air before hitting the battery. What happened was they had started up the ARENA soft/hard kill defense and the Iron Dome defense systems, the Iron Dome system delivered by the Israeli military. Now seeming to be impervious, one of the Russian medics ran over to help Erwin. She took off her body armor and her jacket, then pulled her shirt up off of herself. A small piece of metal from inside their PzH2000 had gone through her vest and into her belly, just to the right of her navel. What worried her the most right away was that the metal hadn't gone all the way through, which meant it was still inside her. The medic gave her a small piece of wood to bite down on as he applied alcohol to sterilize and a local anesthetic. Then, he started working around inside her belly with sterile forceps to pull the metal out. He finally managed to get it out, and everyone looked at it with a shocked look. "You survived THAT?" The medic asked.

"I'm a bit tougher than your average girl." Erwin chuckled.

The medic cleaned up the area and sewed up her wound, then put gauze over the area and wrapped ACE bandage around her to keep the gauze in place. Caesar, Saemonza and Oryou walked her over to the medic station to get a more complete checkup. She sat down on a cot and started holding her belly in great pain. "Umm, Erwin..." Saemonza said.

"Yeah?" She answered.

"Not to be too personal, but is it... your time of the month?"

"No, and it shouldn't be for another week or so. Why?" She responded, not knowing what she was getting at.

"You're bleeding... from your privates." Caesar pointed out.

Erwin looked down in horror at the sight of blood soaking through the crotch of her pants, meaning that she was indeed bleeding from her private area. "Oh, god no. Please, no..." She said, getting more and more worried.

Oryou went and got the attention of one of the lady doctors and told her about Erwin. She came over and looked. "Ladies, we'll need privacy." The doctor told them, closing the curtain.

"Please, don't tell me this means what I think it does..." Erwin said, now crying.

The doctor called a gynecologist who was nearby at the infirmary, as she would be better qualified to help. "Calm down, someone is coming to help. I can only do so much. Now, I'll need you to take off your pants."

Erwin couldn't bend down enough to take off her boots or pants. The doctor slipped her boots off for her, then slipped her pants down. "All of that blood... Please... No..." She said, seeing her underwear soaked in blood.

The gynecologist soon arrived and started looking her over. "I'm honestly surprised this didn't kill you." She told Erwin.

"Doc... Please tell me I can still have babies..." Erwin pleaded, still crying.

"We'll need to get you into surgery. I'll do what I can."

...

Once the girls reached the inner perimeter of the KPA field HQ, the fighting intensified. Pravda pushed ahead, with Katyusha, Nonna and Nina in the T-14. They were harder to target, due to the stealth materials used. They could also shoot faster, which helped a great deal. At one point, an NK SOF trooper jumped on top of the T-14s turret. He popped the hatch and didn't see anyone inside, even though the turret was still moving and firing. Having never seen one before, he first thought it may be a drone. As he was about to drop a grenade inside the turret, one of the Spetsnaz troopers hit him in the neck with his ballistic knife. "Where can I get one of those?" Katyusha asked with a grin.

After the SOF trooper was dealt with, their AT threat indicator came up with something new, 'field gun, N Korean, Neugdae, passive tracking thermal/radar, hostile'. "Field gun?" Nonna asked, looking to see what the system meant.

KPA forces had deployed their Neugdae tank destroyer variant to fight the armor. Its crew took aim at the turret, also not knowing it was unmanned. The 152mm high velocity gun let loose with an armor piercing round that cut through the turret with ease. The air ignited, but nobody was hurt and the fire suppression system came on and kept the fire from getting into the magazine. Nina made the turret spin to aim and return fire at the tank destroyer. She fired a HEAT round, striking the TD on the glacis, right over the driver's hatch. All of the KPA troops that saw this started looking on in shock, thinking the T-14 should've been dead and completely unable to fire. She fired again, at the turret this time. The round didn't get through, but the crew abandoned their vehicle in fright. Nina opened fire with the machine gun and cut them all down.

...

Erwin's surgery went well and she started to wake up. She looked down at her belly and saw newer sutures. "What happened?" She asked groggily.

"Your internal injury has been mended." The gynecologist answered.

Erwin suddenly woke up completely. "Doc, will I be okay? Will I be able to have babies?"

"In time, yes."

Erwin laid back and put her face into her hands, crying again. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

"You won't be able to right away. Wait about three years before trying, but you'll be able to enjoy the rigors and rewards of motherhood."

Caesar, Saemonza and Oryou came in to visit her before heading back out. "How are you doing, Riko?" Saemonza asked, oddly using Erwin's real name.

"I'll be okay." She answered, starting to calm down.

"How are your... Lady parts inside? That metal looked like it hit in a bad place." Oryou asked.

"I'm gonna be able to have children someday."

"Whew. For a bit, we were kinda worried. We know how much being a mommy someday meant to you." Caesar said, putting her hand on her shoulder.

"Will you be okay by yourself? The General wants us to get back out there and help with the artillery crews." Saemonza asked.

"Yeah. Thanks for checking up on me."

...

Pravda's T-14 was rolling around, firing on targets as they came up. The KPA troops still couldn't get over how a tank that was presumably dead was still engaging them. One of the SOF troops managed to put a round from a 9K115-2 Metis-M ATGM into the breached turret, finally causing catastrophic destruction of the turret. "Crap! Now we gotta fall back!" Katyusha shouted, aggravated.

Anglerfish was the first team to reach the KPA field HQ. Yukari set the fuze on a HE frag round for distance and loaded it. Hana fired at the HQ tent, the round going in and detonating, the fragmentation effect ripping through everything and everyone inside. Mako started moving the Leopard 2A1 around to get the team into a better shot at the KPA motor pool. She unintentionally ran over one of their jeeps, flattening it like a pancake.

One of the Spetsnaz troopers called in an artillery strike on their motor pool, and before long, a 170mm shell came down nearby. He called in adjustments and they started shelling the motor pool relentlessly. Once the barrage was over, the fighting seemed to start winding down. The US, PLA, JGSDF and Russian troops started pouring in to the HQ grounds and taking on the remaining KPA troops. Everyone was still on edge, knowing the fight wasn't quite over. Anglerfish stayed in their tank just in case something else happened, and it was a good thing they did. Another Neugdae TD showed up and took aim at them. Maho had their Leopard 2-140 fire at it, which met with success. The round blew out the tracks on port side and the hydraulics. The engine started revving at maximum, eventually blowing itself apart. "Thanks, sis. We have an idea what that thing could've done to us." Miho called over the radio.

"Come on, I'm not going to let my little sis come to any harm out here." Maho replied.

Anglerfish waited until the friendly military units came in and took over before they stepped out. They didn't notice that the turret on the Neugdae TD slowly moving from the hand crank being turned inside the turret. Maho had popped up out of the commander's hatch, noticing the turret moving. "GET DOWN!" She yelled.

Everyone from Anglerfish hit the dirt just before the main gun fired, striking the turret of the 2-140. A US Marine ran over and jumped on the turret of the TD and opened the hatch, then shot everyone inside with his M4A1. Once the dust started settling, Miho looked at the burning remains of the 2-140, horrified at what she saw. She looked over to the side and saw Maho laying on her side, motionless. She stumbled toward her sister's body, sick with fear. She stopped and fell to her knees beside her body. "M... Maho... What-" Miho got out.

She picked up her body and started holding her close. "What's going on-" Yukari asked, stopping when she saw Miho.

"C'mon, Maho. Please wake up... Please wake up..." Miho said, tears coming out. "You're not gone... You're not gone... Your little sis still needs you... Please..."

JGSDF field medics came over and got Maho's body from Miho and started checking her out. They checked her vitals and attempted to revive her. When they couldn't bring her back, they closed her eyes for the last time. Miho collapsed when she saw that. "Miho... I don't know what to say." Yukari said quietly.

Miho latched onto Yukari, bawling loudly. "She's gone! Oh my god, Yukari, she's gone!"

...

The mood was somber at the administrative building, with the war in Japan now concluded. Miho was still clinging to Yukari, still crying. Captain Chono came over to try and help console her. "Miho. I can't imagine how you feel right now, but please let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

"She's gone. I watched my sister die. I held her body..." Miho managed to say.

Hana and Saori joined Yukari and Miho. "For what it's worth, we're here for you." Hana said.

"Yeah. We'll be here as long as you need." Saori added.

Yukari looked around for a moment. "Hey, anyone seen Mako?" She asked the group.

"I think I heard her say she needed to use the restroom." Captain Chono replied.

Everyone heard a gunshot coming from the hallway by the restrooms. The Captain ran down the hallway to the restroom and went in. She came back out and yelled for a medic. They came in and soon came back out with Mako on a stretcher, with what looked like a self inflicted wound on her chest. The Captain kept the girls from going after the medics, knowing they were still upset over their other loss.

...

The Captain was given a note that was found on Mako's person. "I have lived through things that I don't think any girl my age should have to. I've met some wonderful people, and I can't thank them enough for the good times, love and affection they've all given me. Since the war started, I've been having nightmares every night. I just can't go on. I can't do it anymore. I've been depressed for years, and my low blood sugar didn't help. I'm so sorry, everyone. This is all I can do. Maybe now, I can see mom again. Please don't shed any tears for me. I love you all. Goodbye."

"She had some demons." The Captain said out loud, then handed the note to General Kiyofumi.

After he read it, he folded it up. "I wish she would've said something. We could've helped her. Now those girls have to live with a second friend's death."

"We should keep an eye out for them."

...

The rest of Anglerfish was taken to private quarters to meet with a therapist. Captain Chono came in to sit with them, bringing Shiho Nishizumi, Miho and Maho's mother, in as well. Miho ran over to her mom, hugging her tight. "Miss Nishizumi, thank you for coming." The Captain said.

"Captain. I only have one question." Shiho started.

"I'll do my best to answer."

"Did Maho pass on valiantly? Like a hero?"

"She passed in the defense of Japan, and even saved these girls' lives before it happened. It was a true honor to have served with her."

"Mom, I'm so sorry." Miho cried into her mom's blouse.

Shiho went down on one knee and looked Miho in the eye, letting tears slip out. "Miho, don't be. None of this was your fault. I'm just glad you're safe."

Shiho pulled her daughter in for a hug. "What'll we do now?" Miho asked.

"Well figure something out."

...

The funeral for the crew of the 2-140 and for Mako came all to soon for some. General Kiyofumi oversaw the proceedings. "We are gathered today in remembrance of these three brave souls whose lives were tragically cut short by a senseless war. They fought bravely in the defense of their country and its citizens. We now release you from your duties. Maho Nishizumi, Erika Itsumi and Mako Reizei, we thank you for your service. May you rest in peace."

Seven JGSDF soldiers stood in formation, awaiting orders. Captain Chono turned and looked at them. She called out 'ready, aim, fire' three times in the traditional twenty one gun salute.

...

A couple of weeks had gone by and the wounds left in the wake of the war were still fresh. Miho, Yukari, Hana and Saori went to visit the site where the first shot of the war was fired, where their original Panzer was hit. The Panzer was fully restored, but was kept at the site. Next to it was a plaque with Yukari's face on it, and a short message. 'At this place, the opening sounds of the Child's War were heard. The first victim of violence was Yukari Akiyama. She survived and went on to fight against the North Korean military forces. May her bravery serve as an example to us all.'

Miho turned and looked at Yukari. "You know, while everything that happened was sad, but you really did serve as an example for us all.'

"I couldn't have done it without friends like you all." Yukari responded.

Hana and Saori left the two of them alone, as Miho said there was something she needed to talk over with Yukari. Once they were alone, Miho took Yukari's hands. "Yukari, I wanted to ask you something."

"What's up?"

"I've been alone since... You know." Miho trailed off.

"If there's anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to ask." Yukari replied.

"I also feel kinda bad for the time in the hospital bed."

"Well, that was partly me, too."

Miho squeezed Yukari's hands. "I really need someone brave like you in my life. And since Maho is... Not with us, I wanted to know if you'd like to be there for me. Holding my hand, being someone special to me."

Yukari kept her gaze locked on Miho. "Are you asking me to be your... Girlfriend?"

"Yes. I really like you, and I'd be honored if you'd say yes. You're my hero. You're a hero to the whole country."

Yukari thought about it for a moment and was soon ready to answer. "I think I'd like that."

Miho kissed her now girlfriend on the lips. "Thanks."

...

Miho and Yukari were sitting together in Captain Chono's office, having just been in a meeting with her. They went to leave and were stopped by Shiho. She had been spending more time with Miho since their loss. "Miho, how are you today?"

"Doing fine, mom."

Shiho kissed Miho on the cheek. "Miho hon, I need to have a word with miss Akiyama. Can you excuse us?"

Miho agreed and went down the hall for a moment. "Miss Akiyama, you've been a godsend to Miho." Shiho started. "I have the feeling that your continued friendship with my little girl has helped keep her from doing something drastic."

"It's been good for me too, you know. I really like her, and I wouldn't want her to leave us."

"I wanted to give you two my blessing. I would love to have you dating my daughter."

Yukari's heart skipped a beat at what Shiho just told her. "Oh my, I don't know what to say."

"I would really like to have grandchildren. I'll let you date her, only if you can promise me you'll stick it out with her. Understandably, two girls can't reproduce, but we can figure something out."

Yukari blushed. "Children? Um, okay. I'm sure we can-"she stopped as Shiho interrupted.

"I mean it. You two can be together, but I better see grandbabies before too long."

Yukari stopped for a moment to envision herself, happily married to Miho. "Mrs Yukari Nishizumi." She said dreamily.

"Now you're getting it. You don't have to get married right away, but keep it on mind. Now, I believe Miho is waiting for you."

Yukari bowed to Shiho and went over to rejoin Miho.

...

There's still another two chapters left in the main story, and there will be side stories to follow.

...

New vehicles

Korean: M-2017 Neugdae tank destroyer variant. Main armament: 152mm high velocity anti tank gun. Secondary: 14.5mm KPVT machine : thickness classified, nano crystal steel/composite with transparent ceramics, Kontakt-5 ERA. Engine: Daewoo TV-12/s, quad turbo diesel V12, 1,550hp. This vehicle is simply a Neugdae with a high velocity anti tank gun.

Kuromorimine: Leopard 2-140. Main armament: Rheinmetall 140mm smoothbore gun with : 2x MG3A1 7.62mm machine guns. Crew: 4 ( commander, driver, loader, gunner). Armor: thickness classified, 3rd generation composite, high hardness steel, tungsten and plastic filler with composite, ERA. Engine: MTU MB 873 Ka-501 twin turbo diesel, 1,500hp. The 2-140 is a Leopard 2 with a 140mm gun. The size of the gun warrants special counterweights on the back of the turret and offset of the main gun.